ISLAMABAD: Pakistan strongly responds over the controversial Anti MuslimBill in India.
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday strongly condemned controversiallegislation passed by the Indian Parliament which will grant citizenship toreligious minorities from neighbouring countries, but not Muslims.
PM tweeted this morning “We strongly condemn Indian Lok Sabha citizenshiplegislation which violates all norms of international human rights law andbilateral agreements with Pakistan”.
The premier described the move as “part of the RSS Hindu Rashtra design ofexpansionism propagated by the fascist Modi government”.
The draft law will grant citizenship to religions minorities fromneighbouring Muslim countries but excludes Muslims.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill provides that Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists,Jains, Parsis, and Christians fleeing persecution in Muslim-majorityAfghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan can be granted citizenship of India.There are no similar provisions for Muslim refugees.
The bill sailed through the lower house with 311 votes in favour and 80against shortly after midnight on Monday.
The Foreign Office in a statement called the move “a complete violation ofthe Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international covenantson elimination of all forms of discrimination based on religion or belief”.
“The Lok Sabha legislation is also in complete contravention of variousbilateral agreements between Pakistan and India, particularly the oneconcerning security and rights of minorities in the respective countries,”the statement read.
It added, “The latest legislation is another major step towards therealisation of the concept of ‘Hindu Rashtra’, idealised and relentlesslypursued by the right-wing Hindu leaders for several decades. It is drivenby a toxic mix of an extremist ‘Hindutva’ ideology and hegemonic ambitionsin the region.”
“We condemn the legislation as regressive and discriminatory, which is inviolation of all relevant international conventions and norms, and aglaring attempt by India to interfere in the neighboring countries withmalafide intent,” the statement added.